Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Creature’s Attempt at
Humanization
By Noelle Webster
May 2011
“I began the creation of a human being” – Victor Frankenstein (Shelley
54). This is a short yet powerful statement from the eponymous character of
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is a man from a privileged
family who becomes obsessed with pursuing scientific advancements, and is
eventually able to create a living being. While Victor does succeed at creating a
living being, he does not succeed at creating a human being. The creature
becomes excluded from society, and tries to humanize himself through
knowledge of language. To begin with I will do a close reading of Mary Shelley’s
novel, analyzing selected scenes. I will be looking at what, according to the
novel, makes something human and what excludes the creature from humanity.
Victor’s creation attempts to humanize himself and become part of society, but
ultimately is unable to do so. The first chapter will deal with the way the creature
is excluded. He attempts to join and be a part of the community, but is met with
constant and violent rejection. I will look at what motivates the people’s
prejudice against the creature. The novel suggests that the creature cannot be
accepted as human because he is a singular being, and therefore cannot be a
part of a community. Since Victor made the creature, there is not another being
that is the same as him. He is singular in appearance, and in the way he was
made. His singularity makes it so that the creature cannot relate to humans.
Without the ability to relate, he cannot be human.
In the second chapter I will be looking at the creature’s acquisition of
language as an attempt to humanize himself. The creature tries to use language
as a way to relate to humans, thus trying to compensate for his singular
appearance. He uses his acquired language in hopes of making relations, in
order to become a part of the human community. He desires companionship and
goes to considerable lengths to be accepted. The creature recognizes that
people communicate through sounds, and that these can result in specific
emotions. The creature desires to use this to make connections that will enable
him to live alongside humans in a community. The creature is intelligent and is
able to speak and reason, yet is not recognized as a human by society. He is
able to voice his concerns, but due to the way he looks he cannot be considered
human and is therefore denied the rights of man. This means he is unable to
defend his crimes as a human normally would. He is labeled a murderer, but is
not allowed to speak on his behalf despite being quite eloquent. The creature’s
ability to reason and communicate does not allow him to be a part of the human
community. He does not have a being that is similar to him physically, and
therefore is excluded.
Chapter One: The Creature’s Exclusion
Creation Scene
The first scene I would like to look at is the actual moment when Victor
gives life to his creation. Victor, narrating the story to Walton, writes
It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of
my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the
instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the
lifeless thing that lay at my feet.
Shelley 58
Victor has been working on creating life for quite some time, and now that the
moment has arrived his anxiety is so intense that he can barely handle the
feeling. There is no hesitation here, and Victor does not appear to be worried
about any dangerous consequences. He is focused and eagerly anticipating his
creation being given life. However, it is interesting to note Victor’s choice of
phrasing when he says he “might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing
that lay at [his] feet”. I feel that in this phrasing Victor is specifying his creation as
something distinctly not human. Victor calls the creation a “lifeless thing”. A
description such as this is extremely cold and could be describing anything from
a table Victor has in his house to a piece of garbage. He does not even say it is
a lifeless body, but merely a thing. To bring the creation to life, Victor will “infuse
a spark of being”. The word “being” is an abstract term, and not something that
is specific to humans. Exactly what will be infused with the lifeless thing is not
specified, and the result is a creation that does not belong to any specific
category. The creature’s status as a being is ambiguous, and he is already being
excluded by Victor in the sense that he is already referring to the creature as
something that is not human. Also interesting is that Victor notes that the
creature is lying at his feet. The visual is of the creature being physically below
Victor. This gives the impression of Victor being elevated above the creature,
both literally and figuratively. The implication of this cold description is that Victor
is something superior to the creature. At this moment, not only his status but
also his body is superior. Victor is a human, and the creature is currently a
“lifeless thing”. Victor clearly does not recognize the creature as a human, and
in fact sees him as something inferior. The creature is just a “thing”, he is an
object. Therefore, Victor does not see him as a being that could be part of the
human community.
In the same passage Victor goes on to say that “…by the glimmer of the
half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed
hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs” (Shelley 58). This is the exact
moment where the creature is given life. The movements of the creature
described here do not give the impression of how a human moves. Victor’s initial
perception of his creation is something whose movement is really quite odd.
Victor sees “the dull yellow eye of the creature open”. The creature does not
open his eyes, but is rather described as the eye simply opening. It is as if the
eye is opening, but not being opened. Not only that but the eye that is revealed,
instead of being white like a person’s eye normally is, is a dull yellow. Overall
this is quite an eerie image, and I feel it is not a description of a normal human
movement. The creature is moving as if it is a thing and not a living being. After
this Victor says that “it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs”.
The limbs are not described as a voluntary movement on the creature’s part. It
does not give the impression of someone moving their limbs. Instead, it is as if
the limbs are objects being moved by something else. The words “convulsive”
and “agitated” also imply jerky, unattractive movements. Again, the image is not
that of how a human moves, and is overall unsettling. It is as if the creature’s
movements are involuntary. His body appears to be moving without the creature
deciding to do so, and later in the novel it is the creature’s inability to control his
passion and actions that cause him to commit murder. This apparently
involuntary movement causes him to do things that will not allow him to be
accepted into society. Also noteworthy is that here Victor is still referring to the
creature as “it”. The creature has now been given life, but Victor’s initial reaction
is that the creature is an “it”. Victor is telling this story to Robert Walton after the
events have occurred, but when remembering the moment Victor first saw the
creature move, his description uses “it”. This again implies that the creature is an
object, and not a person. This does not seem intentional on Victor’s part. It
implies that at the initial moment of seeing the creature, there is an instinctual
bias against him. Remembering how he felt in that moment, Victor can only
describe his creation as an object.
Victor then goes on to explain his reaction when he realizes he has
successfully completed his endeavor, and the creature is now an animated
being. His reaction is that of horror. He states:
How can I describe my emotions at the catastrophe, or how delineate the
wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?
His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful.
Beautiful! -- Great god! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of
muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and
flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a
more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same
colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled
complexion and straight black lips. Shelley 58
Victor had originally imagined the creature as beautiful. The initial concept was
forming something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to the human eye. But
the creature turns out to be something that humans cannot stand to look at.
Victor had been working on making the limbs proportional, and selecting features
that were pleasing. He uses human bodies and bases the concept of the
creature of what humans would find appealing. Yet the result is terrifying. The
creature has flowing black hair and good-looking teeth, but all these features
accomplish is an overall more horrifying effect. The beauty in those aspects only
creates a more stark contrast with the hideousness of the creature. He is made
from human parts and in human likeness, but is not seen as a human being.
Even though he is meant to look human, it is as if there is something inherently
inhuman about him. Only moments before this, Victor had no hesitation about
giving this body life. If he had seen the body as this ugly previously, I do not
think Victor would have gone through with the animation process. Victor doesn’t
see his creation as hideous until it’s too late, and this change in perspective
happens in an instant. An explanation for this is that Victor was so wrapped up in
his endeavor that he could not see what he was doing with reasonable judgment.
He was so involved in his own fantasy that he could not see what he was
creating. I think there is a little more to it, however. I think that Shelley is
implying that no matter what efforts Victor had gone to, the creature would have
been hideous. Victor puts a massive amount of effort into building this body, and
his goal is that of beauty. It is only at the exact moment that the creature has
been given life that Victor becomes horrified. He immediately describes the
creature in ways that are negative. The lifeless body was not horrifying to Victor,
but the instant the creature has life he is terrifying. There appears to be
something inherent in the creature that is terrifying to humans, giving them an
immediate bias against him.
After Victor describes the creature, he continues describing his reaction to
what he has accomplished. He says
The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of
human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole
purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived
myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded
moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished,
and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the
aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room…unable to
compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I
had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes,
endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness.
Shelley 58-59
Here Victor is noting the fact that he quickly changed his view on the creature.
He has spent almost two years of his life completely focused on his task, even at
the expense of his own personal well being. Yet his beautiful dream is now
completely gone and all Victor sees is horror. With the same amount of intensity
that he desired to complete his task, he now desires to take back and forget the
experience. Victor is “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] had created”.
He genuinely cannot stand the sight of the creature. If there was a person who
should be able to overcome the creature’s physical presence, it is Victor. Not
only is Victor the creator, but he also put so much of his own time and effort into
the creature. But the creature’s body is too hideous. Furthermore, Victor
attributes his change in feeling to “human nature”. This contrasts with the
horrifying description that the reader is just given of the creature. Here Victor is
explaining the creature’s disgusting body, and explaining his reaction to it as
human nature. Humans will instinctively deny the creature because of the way
he looks, yet the creature is made from human bodies and most desires to
belong to the community of humans. By sheer definition, the creature cannot
have “human nature.” Human nature is a way of behaving that all humans are
born with. It is a phrase that describes the way humans are inclined to react to
situations based on the fact that they are humans. It is something that humans
have naturally, but since the creature is not a naturally occurring being he does
not have human nature. The creature will also be unable to understand human
nature. He is not equipped with the knowledge of how humans behave, and
does not understand it. The creature is not a human that was born, he is a being
that was made. Therefore by definition he is lacking human nature, and it is this
human nature that causes people to exclude the creature.
Victor goes on to tell Walton the following:
Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy
again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I
had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those
muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing
such as even Dante could not have conceived. Shelley 59
Again, Victor is reiterating that a human cannot accept the visual appearance of
the creature. He is implying that there is something within humans that will not
be able to support the idea of the hideous creature. It is as if there is something
inherent in the creature that is making his rejection an inevitable absolute. This
passage also supports my previous statement that it is only when the creature
actually has been given life that he becomes so hideous. Victor states that the
creature’s lifeless body had been ugly, but once life had been infused and the
creature began to move the image completely changed. Lifeless, the creature
poses no threat. Now that he has been given life, the creature threatens to upset
society. The creature is now something that is “such as even Dante could not
have conceived”.
This is of course referring to Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. In
Inferno, Dante travels through the levels of hell and encounters numerous
monsters and horrors. Yet Victor is saying that even Dante, who can conceive all
of these monstrous things, could not have envisioned the creature. That is an
extreme jump from merely being “ugly” just a moment before. It is the fact that
the creature is now alive that is so horrifying.
The creature is so horrifying because there is no other being similar to
him. People are unequipped to deal with the sight of the creature. Victor made
the creature, he is not something naturally occurring in nature. Therefore people
cannot deal with him naturally. The reaction is to reject what one is seeing,
because it should not exist. People have a visual prejudice against him; they
assume he is a monster because he is ugly. People relate to each other due to
having things in common, but visually the creature cannot relate to humans.
There is no other being like him, so the creature cannot start his own community
in which to exist. He is forced to look for one to assimilate into. But the humans
are unwilling to accept something that looks the way he does physically.
Maureen McLane, in her essay Literate Species: Populations, "Humanities," and
Frankenstein, writes that
As both Foucault and Frangois Jacob note, species was defined in this era
according to the persistence of the visible structure. For the creature, to be
"of the same species" is to look alike, however "deformed and horrible"
that might be. Species here seems to follow a logic of appearance. It
seems less a scientific category denoting classes of beings which
reproduce their like over time than a perceptual-social category which
organizes the possibility of contact among beings. Creatures of different
species will "not associate" together. Aesthetic revulsion precludes social
interaction. This has been repeatedly demonstrated by the visual paranoia
the monster induces and the semiological riddle he presents. McLane 975
McLane is saying that the very idea of a species is to look similar. If beings are
of a different species, they are not meant to associate together, or form a
community. The idea of species is not something that people would look at
scientifically during the time the novel was written, but on a more social level. So
because of the fact that the creature does not look like humans normally do, he is
of a different species and therefore not a being that would be accepted socially.
McLane notes that this is evident in the way that people react to his appearance,
and that is something with which I agree. Unable to relate to humans through
physical means, the creature will attempt to relate through language. He will
attempt to use language to communicate with people, and therefore make a
connection to the human community. This will be discussed in the second
chapter.
In regards to this scene in the novel, I would lastly like to look at what
happens directly following Victor’s rejection of the creature. The creature’s
appearance has greatly upset Victor, but we see that only after seeing a human
friend of his does Victor calm down. It is human nature to feel better when one is
near someone similar to oneself. This is what happens to Victor. Victor has left
his house and has begun to wander because he does not wish to deal with the
event that has just occurred. Victor’s description of what he views includes the
following phrases:
“Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned”
“[I] felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured
from a black and comfortless sky.”
“I continued walking…endeavouring by bodily exercise to ease the load
that weighed upon my mind.”
“My heart palpitated in sickness of fear…not daring to look about me”
Shelley 60
Victor is extremely distraught. Everything around him he perceives as bleak, and
his only desire is to find a way to forget about what has just occurred. These
phrases show that Victor is completely distressed. It seems as if he will not be
able to calm himself or become cheerful for quite some time. Yet Victor is almost
immediately cheered up when his friend Henry Clerval arrives to visit. Victor
says that
Nothing could equal my delight on seeing Clerval; his presence brought
back to my thoughts my father, Elizabeth, and all those scenes of home so
dear to my recollection. I grasped his hand, and in a moment forgot my
horror and misfortune; I felt suddenly, and for the first time during many
months, calm and serene joy.
Shelley 61
This again is a major mood shift in Victor. He goes from completely distraught to
almost euphoric. Upon seeing Clerval, Victor is flooded with memories from his
home and his childhood. This makes him happy. This demonstrates the distinct
contrast between the creature and Clerval, a human. Victor is remembering his
childhood and home, and this is something the creature does not have. It sets
him apart from humanity. It is also interesting that it is in the moment that Victor
grasps Clerval’s hand that he finally feels calm and joyful. Clerval’s hand and
body is that of a human. There is comfort and connection there for Victor. The
creature does not have this, either. His body may be made up of human parts,
but his body is not that of a human. The creature’s body causes such an alarm
to Victor that he becomes terribly distraught, and this is only cured when he sees
and connects with a human body. I think it is important that the two bodies cause
opposite effects.
The Creature Enters a Village and the Creature Saves a Young Girl
I would like to briefly look at these two scenes because they further demonstrate
the creature’s desire for community and also the visual prejudice that causes his
rejection. After the creature leaves Victor’s apartment, he comes across a hut.
He says
At length I perceived a small hut…This was a new sight to me; and I
examined the structure; with great curiosity. Finding the door open, I
entered. An old man sat in it, near a fire, over which he was preparing his
breakfast. He turned on hearing a noise; and perceiving me, shrieked
loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which his
debilitated form hardly appeared capable.
Shelley 108
This is the first human that the creature encounters after leaving Victor’s, and the
man’s reaction is to shriek and run. In fact, the old man runs faster than a man of
his age should even be capable of doing. However, after this happens, the
creature is not upset, he is merely enchanted by the hut and proceeds to eat the
man’s food. He does not seem to understand the man’s reaction to him. This
implies that the creature must learn to understand human emotions, and was not
created with the knowledge. A human would normally be able to recognize that
something was wrong when the man shrieked and ran, but the creature was
merely surprised. This is showing that the creature lacks basic knowledge of
human emotions and human nature.
The creature then continues on and finds a village. Upon viewing the
village, he says
How miraculous did this appear! the huts, the neater cottages, and stately
houses engaged my admiration by turns. The vegetables in the gardens,
the milk and cheese that I saw placed at the windows of some cottages,
allured my appetite. One of the best of these I entered; but I had hardly
placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the
women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked
me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile
weapons, I escaped to the open country and fearfully took refuge in a low
hovel, quite bare, and making a wretched appearance after the palaces I
had beheld in the village.
Shelley 108-9
The idea of this community is greatly appealing to the creature. He finds it
fascinating and desires to be there. Once again people are scared of him, and
this time they attack him. The creature, having been hurt, now realizes that this
reaction to him is not okay, and there is something wrong. He does not realize
that he looks different yet, and therefore does not understand why he cannot
enter the village. He finds refuge and wishes he could join the village. This is
showing the creature’s lack of knowledge of human behavior, and how he is
excluded because of it.
In another scene, the creature saves a young girl from drowning. He
watches the girl slip and fall into a river, and he says
I rushed from my hiding-place, and, with extreme labour from the force of
the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore. She was senseless;
and I endeavoured, by every means in my power, to restore animation,
when I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic, who was
probably the person from whom she had playfully fled. On seeing me, he
darted towards me, and tearing the girl from arms, hastened towards the
deeper parts of the wood. I followed speedily, I knew not why; but when
the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my
body, and fired.
Shelley 143
The creature’s instinct here is to immediately save the young girl. That shows
benevolence in him. Yet it is assumed by the man that finds them that he is
attacking her, and he grabs the girl and flees. The creature then follows after
them, and he says he is not sure why he does so. I feel it is because he so
desires to be accepted. These people react poorly to him, and now that he
understands this emotion, he desires to follow them. Even though people are
rejecting him, he still follows them because he desires to join them. I also find it
interesting that the creature says the man aimed the gun “at [his] body”. He does
not say that he “aimed the gun at me”, but “at my body”. Once again it is the
creature’s physical body that is the problem. The creature has just committed a
good deed, but is punished for his actions due to the way he looks. Similarly, the
creature helps a family living in a cottage, but is also met with fear and rejection.
The Creature’s Encounter with the Cottagers
At this point in the novel, the creature is relaying his story to Victor. The
creature has been chased out of a village, and he is now taking refuge in a small
hovel. Here he is able to view a family living in a cottage. He becomes
enamored with watching the family. After his first day viewing them, the creature
says
I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep. I thought of the occurrences of
the day. What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people;
and I longed to join them, but dared not. I remembered too well the
treatment I had suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and
resolved, whatever course of conduct I might remain quietly in my hovel,
watching, and endeavouring to discover the motives which influenced their
actions.
Shelley 113
The creature was met with screams when he walked into a village, and he was
chased out violently. This was his experience with humans. Now he is exposed
to a family, and he is in awe of how they treat each other. Even though this is the
creature’s first time viewing a family, he immediately desires to join them. The
creature desires to be a part of a community, and desires to make connections.
The creature identifies most closely with humans, and that is the species he
desires to join. He also shows his intelligence by deciding that he should wait to
show himself to the cottagers. He wants to try and gain a better understanding of
them before he attempts to join them. This is extremely reasonable and shows a
desire for the creature to learn the ways of man. The way that the creature says
he “endeavour[s] to discover the motives which influenced their actions” shows
that he is hoping to humanize himself. However it also shows that he does not
currently understand human interaction. He does not understand why a person
does certain actions. This can be explained by the fact that he only just gained
life, but it also implies that the creature is perhaps missing the knowledge that
humans are born with. It is the lack of human nature. He wasn’t born with a
knowledge of human emotion, or knowledge of how humans are inclined to act.
It implies that inherent difference between the creature and man that the creature
is attempting to overcome.
So the creature goes on observing the cottagers and learns their daily
routines. He figures out that they are poor and hungry, and that collecting
firewood for them is helpful. He says
I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to assist
their labours. I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in
collecting wood for the family fire; and, during the night I often took his
tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing
sufficient for the consumption of several days.
Shelley 114
Due to his help with the firewood, the youth was then able to repair the house
and work in the garden. So here we see the creature actually becoming part of
the community, even if he does so invisibly. He is joining in everyday activities,
and helping other people’s lives become better. Even though he is helping, the
creature is still forced to do so out of sight. His physical appearance is excluding
him.
The creature goes on observing the cottagers to better comprehend
people. He begins to understand them, and becomes attached to them. He says
the following:
The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to
me: when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I
sympathized in their joys. I saw few human beings besides them; and if
any other happened to enter the cottage, their harsh manners and rude
gait only enhanced to me the superior accomplishments of my friends.
Shelley 115
The creature has become enamored with the cottagers and his mood shifts with
theirs. He feels connected with them. What I find significant here is that this
connection seems to immediately cause the creature to feel prejudice against
those who are not the cottagers. This is showing the instinctual rejection of those
outside of what one is familiar with. This prejudice against those other than the
cottagers also seems to be rooted in a difference in appearance. He notes the
“beauty of the cottagers”, and this is what endears them to the creature. Yet the
“harsh manners and rude gait” of other humans that he sees lead the creature to
believe that the cottagers are superior. He is viewing these other people, and
deciding that they are inferior to the cottagers. This is showing that a bias
against others happens instinctively and quickly. It is interesting that the creature
bases his assumption that the others are inferior to the cottagers based on what
he perceives visually. This is the exact prejudice that he is trying to overcome,
yet he displays the same fault. Just like humans, he has an intrinsic quality that
makes him prejudice against those with whom he is not familiar. He has
identified with the cottagers, and therefore sees all others as inferior. He admires
the cottagers for their beauty, yet this is something the creature does not have.
He is trying to learn from the cottagers in order for them to look beyond his
exterior and accept him, but he is susceptible to the same way of thinking that
excludes him. It is something that one cannot help but feel, and this is why the
creature will find it impossible to be accepted.
I would now like to move to when the creature introduces himself to the
blind De Lacey, because this scene really highlights the idea that it is not only the
visual prejudice against the creature, but also that it is in human nature to reject
those that are different. Hoping that De Lacey’s blindness will allow him to
accept the creature, and then later help him be introduced to the other cottagers,
the creature speaks to De Lacey alone. After allowing the creature to enter the
cottage, the conversation starts as thus, with De Lacey as the first speaker:
“By your language, stranger, I suppose you are my countryman; -are you French?”
“No, But I was educated by a French family, and understand that
language only. I am now going to claim the protection of some friends,
whom I sincerely love, and of whose favour I have some hopes.”
“Are they Germans?”
“No, they are French. But let us change the subject.”
Shelley 135-136
The very first thing that De Lacey would like to know is if the creature is French.
He immediately inquires as to what group of people the creature identifies
himself with. People instinctually distinguish themselves into groups based on
similarities. Here the similarity is based on language, and the creature is
attempting to make a connection based on the language he can now speak.
After the creature says he has been educated by a French family, he goes on to
explain his desire to meet with people he loves. All De Lacey would like to know
in response to this is if the people are German. Maureen McClane, in her article
Literate Species: Populations, "Humanities," and Frankenstein writes:
Europe exists as a category over and against the strong persistence of
"native" lands and languages-note that the "European" Victor is soon
denominated a "foreigner" by Robert Walton. The turning of a fellow
"human" and "European" into a specifically Genevese French-speaking
"foreigner" shows how humans identify each another through increasingly
differentiated and estranging categories. The monster strains against and
defines the limits of these kinds and levels of classification. McCLane 965
The creature wants to be a part of humanity, but within that there are even further
boundaries that the creature cannot overcome. The creature was not born, he
was made. Titles such as “French” and “German” can not apply to him. The
creature wants humans to overlook his physical appearance, but there is more
than that separating him from humans. He is a completely singular being, and
therefore cannot connect with any kind of community. Even if his monstrous
appearance could be overlooked, the creature has no way of identifying with
other humans. Humans are biased against other humans that are not the same
as them, and the creature is much more different than, say, a man from another
country.
De Lacey goes on to say “Do not despair. To be friendless is indeed to be
unfortunate; but the hearts of men, when unprejudiced by any obvious selfinterest, are full of brotherly love and charity” (Shelley 136). De Lacey is trying to
tell the creature that the hearts of men are loving, and that the creature should
not despair. He describes this as “brotherly love and charity”. De Lacey is just
using a common phrase when he says “brotherly love”, but it is also very telling.
Once again it is a form of prejudice already instilled within someone. The
creature is no one’s brother. He does not, and can not, have a family. Even
though De Lacey is saying that men are full of love, this love is meant for those
that can be considered “brothers”. The novel is implying that humans have a
natural compassion for other humans, but that this does not apply to the
creature. Later in the conversation, De Lacey says “I am blind and cannot judge
of your countenance, but there is something in your words which persuades me
that you are sincere. I am poor and an exile, but it will afford me true pleasure to
be in any way serviceable to a human creature” (Shelley 136). De Lacey’s
blindness has afforded the creature some time to speak, and the creature’s grasp
of language has persuaded De Lacey that he is sincere. Even though De Lacey
is unaware that he is speaking to a monster, he specifically notes that he will try
to be helpful to a “human creature”. De Lacey is unknowingly bias against the
creature. He claims he is willing to help, but this help will only apply to a human,
which the creature is not. Learning how to communicate will not be enough to
humanize the creature and allow him to be accepted.
The Creature’s Murder of William Frankenstein
At this point it has been established that the creature is, simply, ugly. But simply
being ugly is not a quality that merits the intense rejection of the creature. In
Denise Gigante’s article Facing the Ugly: The Case of "Frankenstein", she writes
In fact, in Frankenstein, the term "ugly" emerges at the precise point when
the speaking subject is about to be consumed by such incoherence.
Descending the Mer de Glace after a traumatic encounter with the
Creature, for example, Victor describes the wind "as if it were a dull ugly
siroc on its way to consume [him]" (F, 176). While the sirocco is as
invisible as wind and hence cannot, strictly speaking, qualify as ugly, his
pathetic fallacy is apt. For as the "contaminating life" of the Creature spills
out from his overstretched skin to pursue Victor physically and
psychologically, it threatens to "consume" him and the entire symbolic
order in which he is implicated. Thus while it is couched in admittedly
boyish terms, William Frankenstein's fatal encounter with the Creature"monster! ugly wretch! you wish to eat me, and tear me to pieces" (F,
169)-contains a fundamental insight into the nature of ugliness itself: the
ugly is that which threatens to consume and disorder the subject.
Gigante 569
Gigante is putting forth that the creature’s ugliness comes from the threat that he
represents. Because the creature is a new life form, his presence is threatening
to humans. He is unknown, and therefore perceived as dangerous. It is the
concern that the creature’s existence will “consume” the current order of society
that makes him so terrifying. It is the fact that the creature cannot be identified
by anything previously known that causes people to react to negatively to him.
The example Gigante uses is the creature’s encounter with young William
Frankenstein.
After the cottagers reject the creature, he leaves his hovel in great
despair. He then comes across William. He says
At this time a slight sleep relieved me from the pain of reflection,
which was disturbed by the approach of a beautiful child, who came
running into the recess I had chosen, with all the sportiveness of infancy.
Suddenly, as I gazed on him, an idea seized me that this little creature
was unprejudiced, and had lived too short a time to have imbibed a horror
of deformity. If, therefore, I could seize him and educate him as my
companion and friend, I should not be so desolate in this peopled earth.
Shelley 144
The creature, still desperate in his loneliness, is hoping that William’s youth will
allow him to accept the creature, as William is so young that he will not yet be
prejudiced. The creature’s thought is that the prejudice against him is something
that is learned or perhaps taught by society. The idea is that William has not
been alive long enough to have been affected by other people’s prejudice. The
creature hopes to form William into his companion. He continues:
Urged by this impulse, I seized the boy as he passed and drew him
towards me. As soon as he beheld my form, he placed his hands before
his eyes, and uttered a shrill scream; I drew his hand forcibly from his face
and said, “Child, what is the meaning of this? I do not intend to hurt you;
listen to me.”
He struggled violently. “Let me go,” he cried; “monster! ugly
wretch! you wish to eat me and tear me to pieces — You are an ogre —
Let me go, or I will tell my papa.”
“Boy, you will never see your father again; you must come with
me.”
“Hideous monster! let me go. My papa is a syndic — he is M.
Frankenstein — he will punish you. You dare not keep me.”
Shelley 144
William reacts with the same horror as all those previously. The creature
attempts to explain that he intends no harm, but William’s reaction is that of
strong rejection. In fact, he assumes the creature’s motives are to eat and
destroy him. As Gigante pointed out, he is afraid of literally being consumed by
the creature. He bases this solely on the way the creature looks.
He also
threatens to get his father. Again, the familial ties that the creature cannot have
are brought up. William feels he is in trouble so he desires to get his father. He
also mentions that his father is in a position of power, pointing out even more
levels within society that exclude others. William’s rejection of the creature
implies that it is not only that society teaches people to be prejudice, but that
there is an instinctual prejudice against the creature. Despite William’s youth and
innocence, he sees the creature and reacts extremely negatively. William should
not have learned to be prejudiced at this point, but reacts the same way as all the
others. The creature cannot overcome this inherent characteristic of humans that
appears to reject him.
These scenes all illustrate that the creature’s physical appearance is
crippling to him. All who see him are horrified, and assume the worst of the
creature. His creator who spent almost two years constructing him, villagers, and
youth alike all reject him. His figure is so horrifying that people seem to be
genuinely unable to look at him. It goes further than that though. Shelley seems
to be implying an inherent quality in the creature that makes him unacceptable to
humans. Victor’s initial reaction is that the creature is an “it”. Even De Lacey,
who cannot see the creature, seems to be excluding him from humanity by the
way he speaks. William’s reaction to the creature shows that the rejection is
instinctual, and not something that is learned. Despite the creature’s attempts to
enter society, he is a singular being and therefore outside of humanity. He is
unnatural, and therefore lacks human nature. He is excluded based on these
facts, but he tries to overcome this prejudice by acquiring the ability to speak.
The creature attempts to create relationships through language, and hopes that
this will allow him to overcome the barrier created by his physical appearance
and become a part of human society.
Chapter Two: The Creature’s Acquisition of Language
Despite being met with fear and aggression, the creature still greatly
desires to form relationships with humans. He is intelligent so he understands
that his body is ugly and frightening, and he longs for a way to make people look
beyond his appearance so that he may enter society. The creature becomes
aware that people communicate through sounds, and decides that he must gain
this ability before presenting himself to any more people. His hope is that this
knowledge will allow him to be accepted.
The creature discovers language when he is observing the cottagers.
His reaction is the following:
By degrees I made a discovery of still greater moment. I found that these
people possessed a method of communication their experience and
feelings to one another by articulate sounds. I perceived that the words
they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in
the minds and countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a godlike
science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it.
Shelley 115
Here the creature is realizes that people can communicate. He is able to
understand that the sounds people make are a way of relaying thoughts and
ideas to others. What the creature finds most interesting, however, is that these
sounds can cause different emotions in the person listening. He finds this power
to be “godlike”. The fact that these sounds can create different expressions and
emotions in others is fascinating to him, and he sees it as a kind of mystical
power. The creature greatly desires to understand this form of communication,
and it is easy to see why. Thus far the creature has been met with fear and
violence. He is now witnessing that certain sounds create certain reactions, and
is hoping to understand how this works. The creature’s desire is to be able to
join these people, and therefore wants to learn how to create a positive reaction
in them. He hopes learning this form of communication will achieve this goal. He
is trying to overcome what separates him from the humans and sees these
sounds as a way to humanize himself.
To further make this point, the creature goes on to say the following:
I easily perceived that, although I eagerly longed to discover myself
to the cottagers, I ought not to make the attempt until I had first become
master of their language; which knowledge might enable me to make them
overlook the deformity of my figure; for with this also the contrast
perpetually presented to my eyes had made me acquainted.
I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers – their grace,
beauty , and delicate complexions: but how was I terrified, when I viewed
myself in a transparent pool: at first I started back, unable to believe that it
was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I become fully
convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the
bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet
entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity.
Shelley 116-117
The creature is explicitly stating his hope that gaining knowledge of language will
allow him to make the cottagers overlook his physical appearance. He is also
noting here that by watching the cottagers he is constantly reminded of their
difference in appearance. Watching them, he sees that they are beautiful. Then
he views his reflection in a pool, and he is terrified. Much like humans respond to
him, the creature is startled by the image. In fact, he too rejects it. He does not
believe what he sees, and has to convince himself of the truth. This greatly
upsets the creature, though he realizes in hindsight that he was not yet aware of
just how crippling his appearance would be to him. At this point he still hopes to
be able to learn a way to be recognized by humans, but by the time he is telling
his story he has realized that he will never be accepted.
Maureen McLane explores whether or not literature is a plausible means
of humanizing the creature in her essay Literate Species: Populations,
"Humanities," and Frankenstein. She writes the following:
Shelley's corporeally indeterminate but decidedly literate monster asks us
to consider whether literature-taken in all its bearings- was or is indeed a
useful "line of demarcation between" human and animal. The fate of the
monster suggests that proficiency in "the art of language", as he calls it,
may not ensure one's position as a member of the "human kingdom."
Shelley shows us how a literary education… presupposes not merely an
educable subject but a human being.
McLane 959
Due to the fact that the creature’s knowledge of language does not allow him to
enter society, McLane feels that literature is not a useful way to differentiate
between human and non-human in the novel. She feels that a literary education
“presupposes…a human being” according to Shelley. So even though the
creature is trying to use literature as a way of humanizing himself, it is futile
because he would have to have been a human in the first place. Studying
literature and language cannot make something human.
In her article, McLane is concerned with what kind of literature the
creature reads in the novel in the process of his self-education. She notes that
“When he embarks on his own tale of the ‘progress of [his] intellect’ we soon
discover that his learning involves not the ‘science’ of ‘modern chemistry’ (or any
other natural science) but rather the ‘godlike science’ (107) of ‘letters’ (114)”
(McLane 70). McLane is noting the difference between Victor and his creation.
Victor’s studies have been scientific, while the creature’s studies have been in
the humanities. McLane goes on to say that “The differential status of "letters"
(the monster's material) and of natural philosophy (Victor's domain) illuminates
how "the idea of the humanities" increasingly delimited and defined itself against
natural science” (McLane 970). This view of the conflict between Victor and his
creature implies that each is symbolic of what they study. This idea is that the
conflict between them is about science versus humanities. I find that this
simplifies the struggle in the novel too much, and does not do enough to explain
the plight of the creature. Victor’s studies in science take root in his desire to test
his own boundaries. Victor wants to find out what he is able to do with his
knowledge, and also to surpass those in his field. The creature’s motivation
seems more innocent to me. The creature’s desire to educate himself is to
become a part of society, and to be recognized as human. While both desires
begin with a desire to be recognized, Victor’s is to surpass humans while the
creature’s is to become human.
McLane’s finds problems with the argument, but notes the following:
What this simplification allows, however, is an opportunity to explore the
novel as a diagnosis of the embodied use and abuse of different
knowledges. The novel proposes, in its history of the monster, a remedy
for the horrifying body which science has produced -- the humanities.
McLane 71
I definitely agree that the creature attempts to make up for his appearance
through his acquisition of speech and the ability to communicate. McLane’s
extrapolation from this idea is that Shelley proposes that the study of humanities
is trying to fix the consequences of studying science. This makes sense to me.
Before the creature’s narrative portion of the novel, Victor narrates his own story.
When Victor tells his story, he comes across as arrogant and also wrong for
pursuing his scientific endeavor as he does. The result of his research is
something considered as hideous by all, including Victor. Then the creature tells
his story, and it describes his realization that he is aesthetically different from
humans and that humans find him ugly and terrifying. His narrative goes on to
describe, his realization that people communicate through speech and that this is
something he must master if he wishes to be a part of society. Here the creature
realizes how important language is, and clearly hopes it will be the factor that
allows him to enter society despite his physical appearance. Science gave the
creature his life and body, but he hopes that gaining knowledge of language will
allow him to better his situation.
McLane had mentioned the “use and abuse of different knowledges”.
Victor abuses his scientific knowledge when he endeavors to create a living
being. The creature’s education though does not appear to be an abuse of
knowledge. He has the desire to converse with people and be a part of their
society. Language and literature are ways of humanizing himself. As I explained
in Chapter One, however, this fails the creature. He is rejected by the cottagers
and then by William, despite his ability to speak to them. His grasp of language
though does convince Victor to hear his story. Upon seeing the creature, Victor’s
response is to try and get rid of him. After hearing the creature request that he
listen to his story, Victor is moved by his eloquence. Victor states that “…I
weighed the various arguments that he had used, and determined at least to
listen to his tale. I was partly urged by curiosity, and compassion confirmed my
resolution” (Shelley 104). This illustrates the persuasive power of language. The
creature had noticed that when the cottagers would communicate with each other
they could elicit emotional responses from the other person. This is what the
creature desired, and here he is able to evoke compassion in Victor. After the
creature has finished telling Victor his story, Victor states the following
His words had a strange effect upon me. I compassionated him and
sometimes felt a wish to console him; but when I looked upon him, when I
saw the filthy mass that moved and talked, my heart sickened and my
feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred.
Shelley 149
So while the creature’s physical body still causes feelings of horror in Victor, it is
clear that his story has caused Victor to feel compassion. Victor wants to
console the creature and debates giving into the creature’s request for a mate.
Victor says “I had no right to withhold from him the small portion of happiness
which was yet in my power to bestow” (Shelley 149). While Victor eventually
denies the creature a mate, it is evident that the creature’s persuasiveness has
affected Victor in this conversation. The creature learned how to effectively
portray his situation and was able to evoke an emotional response in Victor.
To further look at language as relation, I would like to look at Peter Brooks’
discussion on this in his article Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and
Monstrosity in Frankenstein. Brooks states that “In any specular relationship the
Monster will always be the "filthy mass"; it is only in the symbolic order that he
may realize his desire for recognition” (Brooks 593). This is once again stating
that the creature’s appearance causes him inevitable rejection. Recognition can
only come in a symbolic form. He can never be human, but he would like to be
considered a part of the community. He would like companionship. He notes
that in the conversation I just mentioned between the creature and Victor, the
creature has established his first relationship. It is through language that this
relationship was made possible. Only through the creature’s testimony was
Victor able to feel compassion for him. Brooks says the following:
The close of his narrative suggests the importance of language as
relation. In arguing that Frankenstein must create a female monster to be
companion to the male, the Monster asserts that only in communication
with a similar being can he ‘become linked to the chain of existence and
events, from which I am now excluded’ (p. 149)
Brooks 593
The creature has realized that despite his ability to communicate with humans,
they will not accept him. So he desires another being that is analogous to his
own being. With another being that looks similar, the creature would be able to
simulate the aspects of human life that he has desired. He will have
companionship, and will not be met with fear and hatred. Because of the fact
that he is the singular being of his kind, he is excluded from “the chain of
existence”. If he has another being of his kind, he will have someone to
converse with.
After the creature relates his story to Victor, Brooks notes the following:
…that language springs from passion rather than need: need cannot form
the necessary social context for voiced language since its effect is to
scatter men; and need can make do with the barest repertory of visual
signs, gestures, imperatives. Passion, on the other hand, brings men
together, and the relation of desire calls forth voice. It is hence no accident
that what language first reveals to the Monster is human love. And it is
again no accident that his rhetorical plea to his creator ends with the
demand for a creature whom he might love.
Brooks 594
Brooks is saying that voiced language is not a necessity. People can function
and survive on only a few gestures. It is because of passion and desire that
language was developed. Since language is born out of passion, it is able to
portray the emotion of love to the creature. The creature then uses his acquired
speech as a means to express his desire for a mate that he can love, and will
also love him.
Brooks goes on to say that
The Monster's initiation in language, then, unerringly discovers language
to be on the side of culture rather than nature and to imply the structures
of relation at the basis of culture. The discovery is a vital one, for the side
of "nature" is irreparably marked by lack, by monsterism.
Brooks 594
Brooks suggests that the reason language is not able to humanize the creature is
because language can only aid in making relations based on culture and not
nature. Learning how to communicate does not change the creature’s nature.
The creature’s nature is still designated as “monsterism”. Therefore language
was not enough to humanize the creature.
Once again we are seeing that the creature’s problematic body cannot be
humanized. In Diana Reese’s article A Troubled Legacy: Mary Shelley's
"Frankenstein" and the Inheritance of Human Rights, she debates whether the
creature should be given the rights of man, and thus considered human. The
most important issue is the creature’s ability to speak. The ability to speak and
use language to express oneself is a distinctly human trait. Reese states:
The monster should by all rights inherit the rights of man and the citizen:
he is possessed of sensibility and can reason on his own behalf. By virtue
of both of these capacities he becomes able to voice a claim. It is
precisely the voicing of his particular claim, however, that leads directly to
the paranoid escalation of the Doctor's response, that is, Dr.
Frankenstein's fear that the monster will also "inherit the earth" and
threaten the common good of mankind. The monster's projected social
being is precisely what Dr. Frankenstein has come to regard as a direct
threat to his own.
Reese 53
Reese feels the creature’s ability to reason and voice his concerns are the
reasons he should be given the rights of man. This is also the exact reason
Frankenstein becomes intent on ridding the world of the creature. On the one
hand, the creature possesses the very human trait of speech, and appears to be
able to reason. On the other hand, this ability of the creature is exactly what
makes him such a threat, and therefore is denied. As I mentioned in chapter
one, it is this threat on the way society currently is that is so terrifying to the
characters in the novel. The creature disrupts the current order or society by
merely existing, and this causes people to be frightened and to reject the
creature.
Another paradox that Reese discusses is how the creature relates to the
justice system. The creature, having taken human life, is labeled a murderer.
However, it is under human law that the creature can be labeled as such. It is
paradoxical because while it is human law that shows the creature to be a
murderer, he is not actually recognized as a human. Upon first seeing the
creature, Victor does not want to converse with him. Victor is absolutely
disgusted and wants to destroy him. Victor’s reaction is the following:
‘Devil,’ I exclaimed, ‘do you dare approach me? and do not you fear the
fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone,
vile insect! or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust! and, oh! that I
could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those
victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!”
Shelley 102
Victor clearly looks down on the creature. He does not recognize him as a
human being. Victor would be contented to kill the creature and not feel guilty or
morally wrong. Because the creature is not considered a human, Victor would be
able to kill the creature and it would not be considered murder. Even human
laws are excluding the creature.
Reese looks at the following quote from Frankenstein:
The guilty are allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in
their own defence before they are condemned. Listen to me Frankenstein.
You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience,
destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man! Yet I ask
you not to spare me, and then if you can, and if you will, destroy the work
of your hands.
Shelley 103
This is a good example of the creature’s intelligence and eloquence. He is
pointing out that even the worst of men are allowed to defend themselves before
judgment is passed. The creature has the ability to speak in his own defense,
but is not given the opportunity. He is not recognized as a human and therefore
is not given the right to defend himself. The creature also points out that while
Victor has labeled him a murderer, Victor does not see a crime in killing the
creature. Reese says that “The daemons drama immediately emphasizes the
fact that the laws can only identify him as a perpetrator, but not as a victim, apply
to embodied subjects; beyond that they apply specifically to human bodies, the
humanly embodied subject” (Reese 54). So while the laws are able to condemn
the creature, they do not allow the creature to be a victim of a crime. The laws
that show the creature as a criminal can apply to embodied subjects, but to be a
victim you must have a specifically human body. Despite all the creature’s
efforts, the fact that his body appears the way it does makes it so that he will
never be recognized as a human, and is therefore outside of human law.
The creature’s rejection in the novel is due to the nature of his being.
People are instinctively prejudiced against those who are different, and form
relations with those who are similar. The creature is the only being of his kind,
and therefore cannot belong to any community. The idea of a species was
based on if beings looked the same, and the creature does not. His existence is
so frightening to those who see him not only because he is ugly, but because his
existence threatens to cause disorder in society. As he is not a human, the
creature lacks human nature. He needed to learn to understand human
emotions; it was not something of which he was initially aware. The novel
suggests that it is due to the nature of his body and his creation that makes him
inherently not human. There is something inherent in humans that creature does
not have.
The creature attempts to make up for his physical appearance and learn
the ways of man. He watches the cottagers and acquires the ability to speak
eloquently. But this attempt at humanization fails, as he is still excluded from the
human community. The creature is able to evoke some compassion from Victor,
but in the end Victor changes his mind. The people in the novel are completely
unwilling to try to understand and accept the creature. He is a being capable of
emotion and reasoning, yet because of his physical body he is completely
excluded. It is human nature to reject those that look different from yourself. The
creature’s body does not allow him to be considered human, and he therefore is
not afforded human rights. Language is a cultural aspect, and therefore the
creature’s acquisition of it does not afford him humanity. His nature remains the
same, and his nature is not human. When Victor does not give the creature a
mate, he denies him ever having acceptance. The creature needed a similar
being to be accepted, as he would never be allowed to enter human society.
Being the only one of his kind, the creature was destined to exist outside of
humanity.
Works Cited
Brooks, Peter. "Godlike Science/Unhallowed Arts: Language and Monstrosity in
Frankenstein." New Literary History 9.3 (1978): 591-605. JSTOR. Web.
Gigante, Denise. "Facing the Ugly: The Case of Frankenstein." Elh 67.2 (2000):
565-87. JSTOR. Web.
McLane, Maureen Noelle. "Literate Species: Populations, "Humanities," and
Frankenstein." Elh 63.4 (1996): 959-88. JSTOR. Web.
Reese, Diana. "A Troubled Legacy: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the
Inheritance of Human Rights." Representations 96.1 (2006): 48-72.
JSTOR. Web.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus.
London: Penguin, 2003. Print.